Text: Vibeke C Strømmen

Photos: Vibeke C Strømmen & Martin Fossen

It is summer 2019 and we have a heat wave. 30 degrees Celsius and no wind. AT RØROS! Here it can be well below minus 30 in the winter. There is a 60 degree difference there!

After attending a funeral in Trondheim for my great-uncle, who became 102 years old, we leave the oppressive heat of the city and up to the cabin. We find that there is no less oppressive up there, but it`s ok. We have a plan. Kayaking in Femundsmarka.

Due to Røros' long history, where nature has been at the center of what it has to offer, you come across buildings that tell this story. This trip will take us towards and through the old timber gutters that were designed to float timber in the old days. A couple of hits online have given us some information about these gutters and we have studied the map to see where they are. We also decide that this is a trip we can`t take Khaleesi (the dog) on. It's too hot and too far for her. So luckily she has a kind mommo and moffa that she can be with, (my parents). We are also very lucky to have my parents, who helped us with the logistics. This is because our car is parked in Synnervika, while we come ashore in Feragselva. Thank you so much for helping us out, mom and dad.

In Synnervika (more info on getting there - see the tour description for Feragselva) we set out the kayaks. This is the northern end of Femunden where Fæmund II has its starting point. We aim to paddle around Sandodden which pulls out into Femunden and then cross over to a small marina. From here we know that there will be some carrying of the kayaks as there is no direct waterway over to Nordvika. We want to save some time and not paddle around Neset and up again to Nordvika.

All the legs:

Blue dot: Synnervika.

Green dot: a small boat marina.

Black dot: Start lake 1

Purple dot: End lake 1

Red dot: Start lake 2

Yellow dot: End lake 2 

Orange dot: Nordvika

The route on our first leg runs from Synnervika, around Sandodden and into the boat harbor at Nedre Lerviktjønna. Here Martin had to pull the kayaks to the pond itself through a high reed area / bog. This went well. Boots or crocs are recommended. Nedre Lervikstjønna is very small, so we used 1 - 2 minutes to get from one shore to the other. From here it was a short distance over to Lergruvtjønnan, also called Øvre Lervikstjønna. This pond is a little bigger, but still it did not take long before we were ashore again.

Earlier this year, at Easter, we went skiing here. Then we had crossed Femunden in the same way as we now paddled and came to these small ponds. In the winter, scooters are driven through the forest to Nordvika and we followed this trail on skis. Now in the summer there is a clear path you can follow to Nordvika. Here Martin would have to pull 2 ​​kayaks approx. 500 meters. I went in advance with the luggage so that the kayaks did not become too heavy. The air was filled with the scent of pine and dry forrest. It crackled under the shoes of crumbly moss and twigs. For a Norwegian and Trøndelag resident, this is such unusual weather that it is both exotic and fascinating. I remember walking and smiling. I smiled all day because it was so perfect. Everything came together perfectly.

I ate some food and cooled off in Nordvika while waiting for Martin. If anyone deserves a cooling bath this day, it's him. After all, the kayaks weigh 25 kg each. While I was waiting, I scouted over to where we were going to set out on the second stage. It tingled in our bodies because we are now going to head up to the famous timber gutters and none of us have been in anything reminiscent of such constructions before. The gutters are worthy of protection, and we know that it is only possible to paddle one at a time. So we were very excited.

After dragging the kayaks, Martin took a well-deserved bath before we paddle on. When you await for something times moves a little bit slower and this is the feeling we have. But in the end we approach the first channel. Kalvrenna is in front of us and the smiles on our faces are getting bigger and bigger, and the zeal follows. We see it. The phones pop up. We are ready. There is no need to use the oars since the timber gutter are so narrow that the water has enough speed to get us through. Kalvrenna is short and we float out into Lorttjønna. It's as quiet as it gets. No sounds from birds or anything. It is too hot for living beings to be able to move in the middle of the day. Lorttjønna does not have a particularly nice name, but it is very nice, small and cute. On one bank, at the entrance to the next gutter, there is a small cabin. It is possible to use it for anyone who is interested. We get out of the kayaks on the other side of the cabin. There is a sign with maps and information.

Kalverenna - Lortholet - Lortholrenna.

Information and maps.

We are now at the start of Lorttjønnrenna. It is wide enough to get the kayaks through and it has good speed. It can be a bit reminiscent of the timber gutters that are in amusement parks. We walk on large boulders along the gutter to consider what to do. A path goes a little further in which I choose to walk when I see the speed of the water. I'm not tough enough to feel the water forces grab the kayak below me. So I go down to the end of the gutter and up on a bridge. Here it is perfect to take pictures and video of Martin when he comes down in the kayaks. The water has good speed and it looks very cool. We smile and laugh. This is perfect. When both kayaks are through, we eat and drink water. Enough water is important when it`s 30 degrees plus.

Our next stage is at Litjlangtjønna. It is quiet and calm to paddle. We enjoy what we see around us. We feel that we are in the middle of Femundsmarka. Far from everything and everyone, but we discover that there are more who choose to take this trip. When we reach the end of this pond, someone comes in a canoe behind us. So we were not allowed to be all alone this day. Now we are going through Litjrenna, but here it is not possible to paddle.

Litjlangtjønna

Litjlangtjønna

Litjrenna - not possible to paddle.

We always have ropes on paddle trips. We do this because sometimes Martin has to pull me because of challenges with an inflamed elbow. We do not want injuries be decisive in order not to go on a trip, therefore we find good solutions so that we can go where we want and do what we want. These ropes came in handy when Martin attached them to the kayaks and led them both down the gutter as he walked next to them.

At this natural stop there was a family in a canoe who also had a stop and bathed and enjoyed themselves. We continued over Langtjønna with a stop where we also took a cooling break. Lying in hot water, which was frozen just a few months ago, is very strange. It makes one reflect on all the contrasts that exist in life. I have been here in Røros for twenty years and watched all seasons with all that nature brings with it. I have been sitting on a rock in July by a little lake (Storsandtjønna) which is used as a swimming place in the summer and heard and seen lightning and thunder while the temperature has been over 25 degrees. One winter Martin and I were going to spend the night in a tent in Femunden, but had to return because it was minus 25 degrees and we had summer sleeping bags. These experiences are forever remembered. Now, a year later, the memories of the paddle trip in Femunden are as strong and clear as if we had just made the trip. What a wonderful memory bank our brain is. The pictures and videos we have taken are good to have, but they can not tell us the smell of nature, the feelings of warmth against the skin and the water that cools a heated body. These sit in your head, and thank goodness for that.

After cooling off, we fasten the kayaks together and Martin pulls me the last stretch up to the end of Langtjønna. I get time to look around some more and snap photos. Nature is a subtle thing and if you have a little imagination you can see a lot from formations on trees and rocks. It was just such a form I spotted. A stone animal appeared in the middle of the water, which deserved to be photographed, and I smiled. Fun with such things.

We have now reached the last gutter. At the start of it, a small cabin has also been built, which you can use if you want to spend the night. We go ashore a little further away both from the cabin and the inlet to the gutter. A family from Germany is on the same errand and Martin goes with them to the cabin and the gutter. He comes back to say that it is too narrow for the kayaks to get through. Luckily there is a small river not far from where we have gone ashore. The river is called Langtjønnbekken. It is an old wooden structure that lies as a kind of ramp from Langtjønna down to Langtjønnbekken. We are a little unsure of what it was used for, but we predict something with floating timber. There are more who are going the same way as us and the lady in this company has been here before and says that the stream down is easy to paddle. They have a canoe and set off before us. The German family will spend the night and will not join.

I choose to go down to a small bridge and wait on a small bank, while Martin gets both kayaks down from Langtjønna and to where I stand. He comes sailing with my kayak first. I get plenty of time to feel the adrenaline that builds up while I wait for him, as we do not know what this stream is like.

Langtjønnbekken rafting.

The water has a higher speed here than up in Langtjønna, but we have no overview of how the stream runs in the terrain. We don`t know what awaits us further down the river and around the next turn and this creates excitement. After paddling on these calm ponds, we get a boost of adrenaline and excitement as we now set off downhill. This is going to be fun I hope. We can`t do anything else but to paddle down and this will be a fun roller coaster feeling. The stream has a number of turns and the water flows quickly. A width with a tree comes towards me incredibly quickly, but I avoid to crash with it and I laugh with horror-mixed joy. It does not take many minutes before we are out in Feragen. The "rafting" was over too fast, but it was great fun.

Out on Feragen we see Storviglen at 1561 meters above sea level. A mountain Martin has been on and which I aim to get ticked off on my bucket list. There are still some patches of snow on the way up to the top. This is very norwegian, snow is alwasy present in our nature even when it`s a heatwave. We aim for the top of the Feragselva, so our journey now goes to the left after we have come out of Langtjønnbekken, into Feragsåen. Here there are several others in canoes and along Skaftholmen we see that people have spent the night or will spend the night. We paddle calmly up towards Feragselva and realize that our trip is soon over. It has been phenomenal and exceeded all our expectations. The paddle trip we had had last summer on the Telemark Canal I had not thought would be surpassed, but it was crushed by this trip. We are very happy when we paddle towards the Feragselva and go ashore. We finish by eating food, standing in the water, while we wait for my father to pick me up so I can get our car in Synnervika. It's lovely to just stand to cool off and let the trip sink in. 

This trip has been something I have been looking forward to writing about and the memories flowed through my mind, but still I can not describe well enough the feelings we had there and then. Having paddled in Femundsmarka in the timber gutters was absolutely incredible. It must be experienced and highly recommended. We were lucky with absolutely everything and no other trips we have had in retrospect have managed to top this one. We will definitely paddle this several times. We plan to bring my parents, because we want as many people as possible to have such an experience.

You are magical, Femundsmarka, with your large boulders, deep forests, fine waters, timber gutters, history and untouched nature. Thank you for allowing us to visit. See you soon.